Ask Karel Kruška to describe what it takes to be a good poker player, and he’ll tell you it has as much to do with personal temperament as it does with raw talent.

“Czech poker players are usually ambitious young guys,” said Kruška, chairman of Hot Springs Poker Club Teplice and a member of the executive council of the Czech Association of Poker Clubs. “Many of them have a gambling gene. Undoubtedly they are intelligent and playful [but] a certain degree of narcissism and extroversion is also common.”

With poker having surged in local popularity over the past two years — association officials estimate that 60,000 Czechs play poker, with roughly 1,000 organized into 19 official clubs across the country — many aficionados hope that steely confidence comes in handy when facing their latest challenge, one that’s considerably bigger than the game itself.

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Tags: Poker //